The iPhone camera is pretty good for a phone, particularly on the 4S, and it is always in my pocket so available in a way that my “other” camera isn’t. That said there are times when I just want to do things other than point and shoot and that is where this little gadget comes in.

It’s serves two purposes as you can see from the pictures below. Firstly it has a slot on the top into which you can place your iPhone and on the bottom is a standard tripod thread allowing it to be attached to pretty much any tripod. The second role is as a simple iPhone stand. A groove in the base allows you to slot in the iPhone in a couple of ways. However, I am not convinced by this as the angles seem wrong to me.

My major concern was how well the iPhone would remain in the groove but it seems pretty secure, although I don’t think I would try using it upside down! Other than that it’s a great piece of kit, get yours here.

http://dsktp.net/rndrk

With it I also picked up a smart cover, the magnetised, folding cover come stand designed just for the iPad 2. And so far I just don’t know what I think about it. On the one hand it covers the screen offering protection, although only to the front. On the other hand it adds bulk and when using the device I am not sure what to do with it. It flaps around and adds weight to the whole thing when reading, which somewhat defeats the weight loss of the device itself over its predecessor. I could, of course, take it off but I am bound to leave it somewhere and end up scratching the front..

Previously I had a slip case for my iPad 1 and I am still not convinced that this isn’t the solution for me still. However, having spent a small fortune on the new cover I am loathed to give up on it just yet.

Anyone else got reservations about the smart cover? Add your thoughts in the comments.

Google Chrome

No change here and, in fact, I am more wedded to Chrome this year than I was last having used it for a full 12 months I still much prefer it to both Internet Explorer and Firefox. The addition of extensions has just made it all the more useful and a large part of my day is spent within the browser.

Google Mail/Calendar/Reader

Here’s the first casualty of 2010 – Google Reader. I can date the day that I stopped using Google Reader to the day that Pulse for iPad was released. All my mail is delivered to one of two Google Mail accounts – either Gmail for home or Google Apps for work, and then pushed out to my iPhone with no fuss. Love it because it simply works.

Remember the Milk

According to Remember the Milk I completed 3,523 tasks with the service in 2010. I think that speaks volumes of how valuable it has become to me. I am often to be seen sat with my iPhone in hand tapping out a quick thought task into RTM. Only gripes are that 1. there isn’t a dedicated iPad application, although one has been promised and 2. I cannot sync my tasks with any third party apps. Come on guys, no one likes a closed platform.

Evernote

Another absolutely essential application. Evernote now has literally everything fed into it as I have gone completely paperless. I scan all paper documentation into Evernote and then can quickly search for it when it is needed. Both the Mac and Windows applications have been updated this year to be faster and more usable.

iPhone/iPad

When I first heard about the iPad I dismissed it as just a large iPhone – how wrong could I be? My iPad has transformed how I consume information, particularly news feeds and magazines. My main way of accessing both RSS feeds and twitter is the iPad – I love the ease with which the information is made available.

This has meant that I have used my iPhone less as the screen is just too small for some things, such as accessing the web.

Unfuddle

Unfuddle continues to be my primary work application. Using the web based service to record all enhancements and bugs in our product. It hasn’t changed all that much in the last 12 months but does now have the obligatory iPhone app.

Zumodrive/Dropbox/iFolder

Zumodrive is one of those applications that could easily be forgotten about it is so tightly integrated into the operating system that you might be forgiven for thinking it was part of Windows/OSX. It has become something that I am using all day everyday and would be lost without it now which is why I read with trepidation recently that Zector had be acquired by Motorola. I hope that they remain true to their word and the service stays as it is.

While I still use Dropbox it is not as key as it once was, particularly as it now is being replaced at work with iFolder where we get more control for free.

Skype

When Skype went down earlier this year it was a big deal for our business as this is the primary means of communications between us and our developers who are off shore. It really hampered out progress while it was down which is a testimony to Skype’s importance and the need to ensure that you have a contingency in place for when something like this happens.

Sony Reader

I read more books in 2010 that I have in any other year of my adult life and the Sony Reader is the reason why. Its compact design, clear screen and ability to hod more books than I would likely read in a lifetime make it great. It’s not without its problems and the price of ebooks and availability is just shocking but nevertheless it means I can and do read more than I did before.

Why don’t I read ebooks on my iPad? Simple the size and brightness of the screen is just makes it a tiring experience.

MacBook Air

A couple of years ago you would have been hard pressed to find an Apple product in our house, these days it’s hard to find a Windows machine. Apple’s build quality is just stunning and justifies, in my opinion, the premium you pay – and the MacBook Air is a premium product. Its size and its weight make it the machine to slip into a case and carry with me everywhere and it is instant on, perfect for meetings and quick presentations.

I am less bought in to OSX and think that Windows 7 has the measure of it.

WunderRadio/Subsonic

Subsonic is just brilliant and is not pretty much the only way that I now listen to music. Whether it is on a computer or portable device I can have my whole music collection available and queued up. WunderRadio does the same for me only for listening to music.

DOA

So that’s the list. But what about those that have dropped off the radar? Well the move to Mac has made me rethink how I blog and having been a staunch follower of Windows Live Writer I have now ditched it in favour of either Wordpress itself or Blogpress on the the iPad. Also gone is the Netbook the MacBook Air has seen that off pretty effectively.

That’s my list for 2010 – what have you found to be invaluable?

Let me repeat that…

My iPad backup is going to take a massive 21 hours to complete. Yes, TWENTY ONE HOURS! To put this into perspective my 32GB iPhone takes about 10-15 minutes to backup and that is full. My 64GB iPad, which is only two thirds full, takes some 84 times longer – I just don’t understand it.

I am really looking forward to iOS4 for my iPad with all its folders and multi-tasking but Apple really need to get this iPad back-up sorted and soon. Come on Steve sort this out. I want my iPad back!

One of the changes is to turn the orientation lock button on the iPad to be a mute button. Well hold on a minute who checked with me that was something I wanted? Where’s the friendly but terse email from Steve Jobs checking that was going to work for me? I use that button A LOT and if I need to mute I press the volume down for a second and guess what it mutes!

I can only imagine that this is to bring the iPad into line with the iPhone which has a mute switch and orientation lock is a software function which makes perfect sense for a phone but not my iPad.

I can only hope that you can change the function in settings but Apple don’t have a great record of this sort of thing. *sigh*

- An Apple wireless keyboard
- 3 mifi
- Portable, adjustable, folding stand from eBay

It’s like having a Macbook that you can break down into its constituent parts. I just sling them into my case and off I go. I am finding that I am using my laptop less and less and now never use my desktop at home. Who said the iPad was just a big iPhone?

1. It has an OLED screen giving much more information than before, including the amount of data this session.

2. It now has a web interface that allows you to both configure and monitor the device. This save you having to flash the device yourself with the worry that you will brick it.

3. There is now only a single button. You switch it on. It connects. You’re good to go. Much better

4. It’s now a trendy matt black colour.

The session data shown on screen is not all that useful as you still have no way of telling how much you have used this month and therefore how close you are to your limit.

Overall a nice little upgrade.

So I saw this post about a cheap and cheerful iPad stand a while back which suggested using a desktop business card holder. What a great idea, I thought! Except that it was only available from Office Depot in the States and no amount of searching either online or in bricks and mortar could turn one up. Then a colleague of mine went on vacation to Florida and so I asked her if she wouldn’t mind spending some of her precious holiday time in Office Depot. Surprisingly she agreed and this is the result.

I have to say it is just about perfect for desktop use and providing you don’t need to “prod the pad” too often then it is just fine. The bottom is a little shiny so too much pressure on the iPad can cause some desktop slippage but it is very stable with the iPad in place. In fact it is so stable and just the right angle that you would have thought it was made for it.

Also it has the added advantage of being able to hold business cards too!

Want one and in the US? Get yours here.

The camera kit is interesting as the name suggests it is for connecting cameras, which it is. However, I was also able to successfully attach both a USB headset and a Mac USB keyboard, though the latter reported that it was not compatible but worked just fine. Neither of these items have made it into the kit bag to Italy but I do have my stowaway Bluetooth keyboard and an Apple iPhone headset for making skype calls.

I am still to find a suitable iPad stand that works in both orientations and is transportable so I am sticking with an old plate stand I found around the house.

Despite the iPad having ebook reading software I much prefer my Sony Reader. The reasons for this are that the experience on the Sony is so much closer to that of a book. It is also lighter and easier to hold for extended periods.

The final piece of kit (leaving aside the chargers) is my iPhone 3GS which while I won’t be using it much as a phone it will come in handy as a sat nav, electronic guide book and entertainment device.

The picture below shows the kit ready to go. In the next post I will run through the apps that I have been using while away.